By: C. R.
The Government Communication Office (Ukom) has decided to withdraw its call for offers for the preparation of a media plan for an informational campaign on the government’s achievements in the outgoing term. The call had faced numerous criticisms in recent days. Ukom maintains that these criticisms are unfounded, but nevertheless chose to retract the tender.
Ukom had published a public call for offers to prepare a media plan for purchasing media space for an informational campaign on the government’s achievements, from which it was clear that they had planned a ten‑day media campaign.
It was scheduled to run from 9 to 18 February, right up to the last day before the official election campaign begins. The government had earmarked €40,000 for the campaign, intended for buying advertising space on online portals and airtime on radio stations.
The planned informational campaign on the government’s achievements at the end of its term stirred quite a bit of controversy. The opposition NSi already demanded a session of the parliamentary commission for public‑finance oversight on Monday, and today even the 8 March Institute publicly called on the government to withdraw the tender.
According to our sources, the criticism was apparently too intense, unsettling even the political patrons behind the scenes. Within the 8 March Institute, there was reportedly concern that the controversial campaign might further motivate voters to elect a right‑wing government.
Let us recall: Ukom is headed by Petra Bezjak Cirman, the wife of “the best investigative journalist” Primož Cirman, who previously worked together with the now‑former (but still influential) Svoboda official Vesna Vuković, first at Dnevnik, then at Siol, and most recently at Necenzurirano.
It is also entirely possible that the tender was withdrawn at the request of Milan Kučan. In an interview for Reporter yesterday, he said that although the current government had not done little, it could have done more given the majority it held, especially in the field of education. He added that it had tackled issues neglected by all previous governments. “Those who work make mistakes; those who work a lot make even more mistakes. Such projects require considerable political courage. But they are necessary for the success of society and for keeping pace with modern developments,” he said. Above all, in his view, the government has stabilised the political space.